Glimmer
by dutchtulips
Summary: movie-verse, one-shot, takes place a few weeks after the end of Spider-Man 2. Peter and Mary Jane share a few touching moments, and he recites a certain poem for her. Really shippy PMJ - extreme fluff alert. ;-)


**SD -** Marvel, Sony, Stan Lee, Columbia... yadda yadda yadda. Spider-Man doesn't belong to me. Damn. Oh yeah, and the excerpt from the poem "The Song of Hiawatha, Part II: The Four Winds" is by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. You'll recognize it, trust me. The song "When You Love a Woman" belongs to Journey. Not a songfic, I just used one verse. 

**AN -** I'm probably not the first person to work with this premise, and it sure took me long enough _to _do it, but ah well. ;-) The last time I wrote a Spider-man movie-verse fic was probably about two years ago. After the last fic I wrote based on the first movie, I figured I was done with Spider-Man fics. But since seeing and now owning Spider-Man 2 - which I am completely in love with - I knew I had to write just one more. It's pretty much PWP "Plot? What plot?", and an excuse to just write some P/MJ fluff. So, enjoy it. ;-) 

Dedicated to an old Spider-Man fanfic pal of mine, Blu Wynd Faerie. Bluie, the day has arrived at last. ;-) 

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**Glimmer**

-dutchtulips- 

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"Peter, I can't survive without you. I know why you think we can't be together, but can't you respect me enough to let me make my own decisions? I know there are going to be risks, but I want to face them with you. It's wrong that we should each be only half alive, half of ourselves. I love you. So here I am, standing in your doorway. I've always been standing in your doorway. Isn't it about time somebody saved your life?"  
--Kirsten Dunst, _Spider-Man 2_

--- 

She wasn't too surprised, after walking up the creaky staircase to Peter Parker's little apartment, to find that the one-room flat was nearly pitch dark. But dim her enthusiasm, not a chance. She knew where he was - out there, doing his job. Being the man she fell in love with those years ago. The same man she was still in love with. 

Closing the flimsy door behind her, Mary Jane Watson pulled the handle of her purse off her shoulder, hooked it onto a nail next to the door, and turned back around to survey the tiny apartment. It was still dark, and the only light coming in was from the French doors, from the silvery full moon outside in the New York sky. Mary Jane's first impulse was to reach over to the nightstand and turn on the lamp, but she chose not to. Somehow things just felt more comfortable in the dark. Mary Jane glanced around the apartment again. It wasn't much, but to her it held a sort of treasure, a secret treasure that only M.J. knew of. It was hers to cherish and nobody else was even aware of it. It felt good, that emotion. 

Boy, had she wanted it for so long. 

Slowly she walked towards the French doors, her high-heeled shoes click-clacking across the wooden floor. As she pushed one of them opened, just slightly, Mary Jane remembered quite vividly the scene from a number of weeks ago that had ended with her standing in this very same spot. The scene that had felt like everything had ended and begun all at the same time. 

As she leaned against the doorway, the flaking paint chips crinkling slightly under her hip, Mary Jane stared out into the darkness, the neighboring skyscrapers and high rises pressing artfully against the night sky. A balmy breeze drifted into the room, playing lightly with the hem of M.J.'s dress and dancing across her face. A tingle rushed through her, making her feel powerful, somehow. 

Realizing she was still wearing her jacket, Mary Jane turned away from the balcony for a moment, shrugging it off her shoulders and hanging it on the nail with her purse. But when she turned back around again, she saw that she was no longer alone. 

Spider-Man was on the narrow balcony, perched atop the balustrade. 

Mary Jane gasped violently. "Peter!" She exclaimed, clutching her heart. "You nearly scared me to death!" 

"You're standing in my apartment in the dark! What did you expect?" He replied jokingly, hopping lightly to the apartment floor. Pulling off his mask, Peter smiled at her. He had a weary look in his face, from a night of fighting crime, but seeing M.J. standing in front of him caused his tired eyes to brighten considerably. 

"Wow, Mary Jane... you look beautiful." 

She glanced down slightly, at the emerald green dress she was wearing. "It's not much, just something I tossed on after the show." 

"No," he replied, his smile a little bigger as he took note of her hair, "you look like Christmas." 

Mary Jane looked back up at Peter, a silly grin on her face, and stepped closer to him. She reached out, running her fingers along the web design on his chest, and then she wrapped her arms around him and they kissed. Peter slid his gloved hands around her waist, drawing their bodies together, deepening the kiss gently, warmly. 

After several moments, though, it broke, and when Mary Jane opened her eyes, she saw Peter smirking at her. 

"I was going to tell you about what a lousy night I had," he quipped, "but you just made it a lot better." 

"Hey, you're not the only one in this room with superpowers," she laughed, giving him a gentle squeeze around the neck. Mary Jane's eyes drifted to the balcony then. "The weather's nice tonight. D'you want to sit on the balcony or something?" 

"It's too narrow to sit on, actually," Peter replied sheepishly. "But if you open the doors and sit just inside them, it's just as good." 

When she glanced sideways at him, he said, "I've done it a few times... when I was feeling stressed out. It's really... peaceful." 

"Sounds nice," Mary Jane replied, that award-winning smile back on her face. She walked over to the doors and nudged them open a bit wider, and then softly dropped down to the floor. Glancing back at Peter, she patted the space on the floor beside her, inviting him to sit. 

"Don't you want me to change out of this thing first?" He said, referring to his Spider-Man suit. 

Soundlessly she shook her head, still smiling, and looked at him expectantly. Peter hesitated only for a moment, but then walked over to the French doors and sat on the floor next to her. 

Mary Jane started to reach over for his hand, but as she did she felt something in her hair and glanced over her shoulder. Peter had moved behind her, sitting with one knee propped up and his cheek resting against her red hair. As he slipped his arm across her stomach, Mary Jane leaned back against his chest, and rested her hand over his gloved one. The way he was holding her so close; he'd indeed had a tough night out there. 

They sat that way in the mild night air for several long minutes, just quietly holding each other, reveling in one another's warmth. Compared to a time when Mary Jane never thought she would ever have moments like these with Peter, it made her feel content, and safe. The way he had his arm around her, resting his head against hers, it made her feel truly loved. 

A thought struck her then, and the smallest of smiles broke the corners of her mouth. Mary Jane didn't know if Peter felt too tired to talk or not, but suddenly there was something she just had to ask. 

"Peter?" She asked softly, entwining their fingers. 

"Yeah?" 

"Remember... that night at the Planetarium, when you tried to recite that poem to me, and I wouldn't listen?" M.J. said. 

He gave a small laugh then. "Yeah... pretty dumb of me, wasn't it?" 

Mary Jane didn't reply to what he'd said; instead she asked him, "Will you... will you say the whole of it for me?" 

Peter glanced down at her, and their eyes met. Though it was dark, M.J. could see a deep emotion flooding his eyes, something she couldn't exactly identify, but then a moment later he beamed. 

"You really want to hear it?" 

"Yes," she whispered. 

He didn't respond at first; his smile softened and he reached up to run his fingers through her hair, tenderly smoothing the silken red locks away from her face. Mary Jane's head leaned back against his chest again, and a moment later, Peter's voice spoke, filling her ears, her heart. 

" 'Far away upon a prairie, he beheld a maiden standing, saw a tall and slender maiden, all alone upon a prairie; brightest green were all her garments, and her hair was like the sunshine,' " Peter's other arm wrapped around her then, "Day by day he gazed upon her, day by day he sighed with passion, day by day his heart within him, grew more hot with love and longing...' " 

Mary Jane pillowed her head in his shoulder as Peter's arms tightened around her. "That's so... ethereal," she whispered. 

"It's from the _Song of Hiawatha_, by Longfellow," he told her modestly. 

M.J. tilted her head to look up at him again and, with a slight sparkle in her eyes, she asked, "Why did you try to recite it to me that night?" 

He returned her stare, beaming sheepishly. "Don't you know?" 

Mary Jane couldn't stop the smile that spread across her face then. "Well... yeah.... I suppose I do." She reached up and touched the side of his face, like she had been so accustomed to doing these days. "I love you, Peter." 

"I love you, too," he whispered, and leaned down slightly, tipping her chin up and capturing Mary Jane's mouth with his, kissing her sweetly, deeply. She kissed back in the very same way, her hand on Peter's face moving to hook around his neck. 

It felt just like the kiss from the weeks past, when Peter turned around and saw M.J. standing in the doorway in her wedding gown. And the kiss from forever ago, when the rain was teeming down and Mary Jane pulled down Spider-Man's mask and kissed his upside-down face. But that one was from before, which felt so far away from everything that had happened now. 

When it was back in those days two years ago, Peter felt like he was hiding. But in some ways, for some reasons - the biggest of all being the young woman in his arms - he felt like wasn't running away anymore. When Mary Jane became the runaway bride, and appeared in his apartment, offering him a slice of freedom, he practically felt his heart breathing a sigh of relief. 

Their kiss ended smoothly, and Peter laid his head against hers again, kissing her temple lightly. Mary Jane found his hand again and, weaving their fingers together once more, draping his arm back around her waist. They fell back into silence then, drawing each other closer. 

It was quiet for a long time as they sat there on the floor together, but from the room next door, where its balcony doors were also opened, a radio was on, the ballad it was playing being carried through the nighttime breeze, which seemed to surround them. 

"_When you love a woman, _

_You see your world inside her eyes _

_When you love a woman, _

_You know she's standin' by your side _

_A joy that lasts forever _

_There's a band of gold that shines,_

_Waiting somewhere..._" 

Mary Jane smiled at the song and let out a tranquil sigh, relaxing her body against Peter's. As another lazy breeze gusted into the room, she raised her head to look outside, at the sky, and at the same time, the pale light from the moon fell across her face. 

"Look at the full moon," she said softly. "I've never seen it so beautiful before." 

Peter glanced at her, his eyes aglow as he watched her stare at the sky, a content smile on her face. As far as he was concerned, Mary Jane's beauty hardly compared to the moon. But as its illumination glistened over her face, a feeling washed over him. He wouldn't always be lucky enough to have moments like these with M.J. anytime that he wanted, but as long as there was just a few quiet moments to spend with her, that flicker of a chance, just to relish in the peace Mary Jane gave to him, Peter would cherish that glimmer. 

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**el fin**

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End file.
